Still Lost
by wildeve
Summary: Set after the Avengers, Jane and Erik are invited to travel to Asgard to see Thor and Darcy tags along to try and salvage what's left of her academic career. Plus, she's bored.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Set just under a year after Avengers. The tesseract has been used to open a temporary useful portal between Asgard and Earth. Thor has asked Nick Fury to send Jane Foster and Erik Selvig to come to Asgard. Loki is under house arrest and has been stripped of his magic by Odin. Darcy is still PA to Jane and being paid by Shield, so she of course invites herself to accompany Jane and Erik to Asgard. This is straight up romance; smut will be confined to innuendo and behind closed doors. Not much conflict outside the feelings of my OTP. Of course I don't own any of these characters, but it's all for love, not money.**

Darcy was used to all the Shield staff milling around looking very stressed out, but the activity near the portal was at a whole new level. Jane had mentioned earlier that Nick Fury was not completely on board with this diplomatic visit to Asgard. He felt it was much safer for Thor to come to Earth instead. She really didn't care about his concerns; she was very interested in getting to the place that Thor had come from, and those warriors who looked like they came from a Renaissance Fair but fought like gods. She was easily bored and figured this would be a perfect change from the dull basement labs she'd been stuck in for almost a year after Loki's defeat and capture. She just sat back in her chair, duffel bag at her feet, watching Jane's face, which was much happier now that she was perhaps minutes away from seeing Thor, concentrate on the Stark super computer calculations currently going on by the tesseract portal. Erik also seemed eager to get to Asgard, to see the world he'd learned about as a child, full of people from myth and legend.

"It's time, Darcy, grab your bag." Jane called out. "Come over to the platform and stand next to me."

"Is this going to hurt?" Darcy wanted to know. She really had a low tolerance for pain. She had carefully tucked Shocky in her jacket pocket, just in case.

Erik smiled. "Darcy, don't worry. We'll be right beside you. The translation should be almost instantaneous. "He offered his hand, and she gratefully took it, happy to have him next to her.

An automated voice began a countdown: "T minus 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Engaging Portal." There was a brief flash, and then bottom of her mind dropped out of her toes and then screamed back up and back down again, all at the same time. Her whole world was a light blue glow, then orange, then green, then every color of the rainbow. The next second she was in a beautifully decorated room. It seemed that even basement labs on Asgard were tastefully appointed. There were fine wooden tables and richly colored fabrics draped on the walls. It only took a minute or so to become stable on her feet, but by that time she had an Asgardian guard holding her up by the waist.

She carefully detached herself from him and looked around. Jane squealed and ran across the room toward a big man. Thor had come to meet them, of course. Darcy felt a warm glow and glanced over to Erik, who also had a smile on his face. Erik's next expression was one of awe. She followed his gaze to an older, grey bearded and distinguished looking man, richly dressed, with a golden eye patch. This must be Odin, one eyed Allfather of Asgard. She'd been studying.

"Welcome to Asgard. I am Odin, King and Allfather. I am happy to open this portal to Midgard and to begin diplomatic and scientific relations with Earth. Please come and feast with us after you have rested. Thor, I'm sure you wish to do the honors."

Thor smiled and walked over to Erik and Darcy. "So good to see you again. Please follow me." Thor grabbed Erik's proffered hand and then pulled him in for a bear hug. Darcy was next and was left breathless by his massive clutch.

"Whoa, there buddy. I'm getting lightheaded... Jane, call off your boyfriend." Darcy laughed as Jane blushed at "boyfriend."

The group left and walked what seemed like a mile towards a large structure. Darcy was amazed at the beauty of Asgard. For such a technologically advanced culture, there was an extreme emphasis on aesthetically superfluous details. Her Political Science grad school background suddenly kicked in and she started a sociological analysis in her mind. She might even turn this into her dissertation if she could get security clearance.

Of course the rooms they were given were beautiful, comfortable and quiet. Too quiet for Darcy. With an hour until the feast, she was restless. She'd changed into her one good dress, a black jersey wrap dress from Macy's (on sale) and some strappy sandals, she'd also put on some lipstick and taken her glasses and stowed them into her small bag. She really only needed them for driving anyway, she told herself. She was ready to explore a wee bit before the feast.

She paused outside Jane's door. She could hear faint conversation, and was that... giggling? No way would she interrupt at this point. She wandered down the hall, breathing in the scent of flowers. She saw a guard at a branch in the corridor. She paused and then, seeing no reason to be shy, since after all she was an honored guest, marched right up to the guard.

"Hello, uh, sir guard. I'm planning to do some research during our visit. Is there a library or other, um, repository of knowledge or history within this building?" She felt very odd, but when the guard snapped to and pointed down the corridor, she was relieved.

"Yes, my lady. The library is just three doors down on the right. Anything else that you require will be brought right way."

"Thanks very much, um, guard person. I will get back to you on what else I need." Darcy kept on down the hall and approached the indicated door and pushed it open with both hands, considering that it was heavy polished wood. She stopped in her tracks when she saw someone was already in the library.

He sat next to the fire in an armchair, book open on his lap, face down, reading intently. He had dark hair, pale skin and prominent cheekbones and a strong jawline. He was half smiling when he noticed her presence. His half smile disappeared instantly. His aquamarine eyes locked onto hers and reflected the fire light.

"Uh, um, hello, uh, I'll come back later." Darcy stammered and backed toward the door.

"There's no need to leave. The library is very large. Plenty of room for two." He indicated the vast room, lined with shelves and thousands of books. There were comfy chairs and couches with fluffy cushions and writing tables, desks and chairs interspersed with academic precision. It was like the most awesome university library reading room she'd ever seen, and she gasped a little in appreciation.

His half smile came back."I am Loki." He added quickly when she froze, "I can do you no harm. Odin has made sure of that, so do not be alarmed or afraid. Part of my penance and punishment is to ensure that our Midgardian visitors are afforded every courtesy and consideration. How can I help you, Darcy?"

"How did you know my name?" Darcy tilted her head at him.

His eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. "I was told the names of our visitors, and since you're not a man nor are you in Thor's arms right now, you must be Darcy Lewis, scholar of government, societies and culture."

Darcy blushed a little at the thought of being in Thor's arms, but she decided to stand her ground and look around the room and see what the collection was like. She took a deep breath and pulled her glasses out of her bag and put them on. She started walking and reading titles along the wall shelves, feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise as she felt his jade eyes following her. She screamed a tiny scream inside. This was the guy, THE GUY, the one who she saw on CNN last year. She remembered holding Jane's hand as they sat together, eyes glued to the screen as they watched the aliens emerge from the hole ripped into the sky above Stark tower in Manhattan. They had shown footage of him taken in Germany as well, where he had killed a scientist and then tried to subjugate a crowd of wealthy art patrons. He looked the same, but his expression was mild now, almost but not quite meek. Was this the result of his punishment?

"The feast is due to begin in a few minutes, my lady. Perhaps you should begin to make your way to the great hall. It's down the corridor past the main entrance on the left, you can't miss it. If you get lost, just ask a guard to escort you." Loki broke into her thoughts, his voice purring behind her.

"You're not coming to the feast?" she asked, confused.

"No, of course not. I'm not welcome at social gatherings anymore. For obvious reasons." He lightly took her elbow and walked her to the door, holding it open for her. "I am at your service."

"Uh, okay, then, um. Bye?" The door shut in her face.


	2. Chapter 2

The feast was, well, a feast fit for the gods. Jane spent the whole time gazing up at Thor. Dr. Selvig spent the whole time in earnest conversation with Odin and an Asgardian "scientist" and doing shots with the very large warrior named Volstagg. Darcy tried to keep up in conversation with the Lady Sif and the Robin Hood looking warrior, Fandral or whatever his name was. He was plying her with booze was what he was doing, no doubt about it. He practically twirled his mustache as he looked into her eyes and then down into her cleavage.

After what seemed like an eternity of eating, drinking, more drinking, removing Fandral's arm from around her shoulders, more drinking, pulling her hand back as Fandral kissed it for the tenth time, she finally noticed that Jane had slipped out with Thor, so Darcy took her chances on evading Fandral and stumbled back to her room.

She had just taken her sandals off and was rubbing her aching feet when she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Lady Darcy? 'Tis I, Fandral."

Darcy groaned as she fell back on her large soft bed. The room began spinning. Oh go away, she thought. After a few minutes she heard his footsteps moving on down the hall. She must have passed out, because a few hours later, she pried open her eyelids and attempted to sit upright. The light coming into the window seemed to show it was late morning, but it was hard to say since she wasn't on Earth. Oh my god, she thought. I'm not on Earth. She stifled a giggle, which turned into a groan as her head pounded. Oh Toto, I'm not in Kansas anymore...

She bumbled a bit around the room, collecting clothing from her bag, and then taking a long hot shower. It took more time than it should have to figure out how to work the Asgardian plumbing due to her hangover. After donning her Captain America T-shirt and jeans, she rang the bell above her bed and a serving maid appeared in a few minutes with a tray. She almost cried with relief when she saw that the maid carried a steaming pitcher with a cup and saucer on a tray in with her.

"Thank you so much. I thought I was going to die." Darcy was impressed that it was real coffee in the pitcher, not some Asgardian concoction. The maid told her that Thor had asked Dr. Selvig to bring a few pounds of coffee beans with him. She remembered that he had thought coffee cup- smashingly good the first time he tried it on Earth.

Coffee downed, teeth brushed, hair dried and tied up in a messy topknot, Darcy felt almost human again. Stepping out into the hall, she walked toward Jane's room. Pausing, she listened at the door again. More giggling? "You've got to be kidding me," she thought as she turned toward the library. She caught a glimpse down the corridor and saw Fandral striding in her direction. She quickly turned right and ran-walked to the library door and pushed her way in, quickly pulling the door shut behind her.

Loki was in his chair by the fire. As she leaned against the closed library door, trying to look casual, he arched an eyebrow at her. He was dressed in typical Asgardian clothing, lots of fine green wool and leather, and as he took in her Captain America tee and faded jeans, she began to regret her fashion choices for the day. Oh well, screw him and all the fancy nancy Asgard boys, she would ignore him and start her research while Thor and Jane finished up their morning "activities." She figured Dr. Selvig would also need some more sleep after last night as well.

She listened at the door for a second. "If Fandral wants to know where I am, you never saw me, okay?" Footsteps receded.

Loki tilted his head and said "Am I to understand that Fandral is searching you out and you do NOT want him to find you? That is very unusual, young lady. Fandral is what you would call a real 'catch' I'm given to believe."

"Ugh, no, not my type. Oh, my head. I have one hell of a hangover, so I'm going to sit here quietly and read a book. If I wanted to learn about Asgardian forms of government, both historical and contemporary, which book would you recommend to start with?"

Loki got up and walked across to a stack of books on a table near her overstuffed arm chair."I actually took the liberty of pulling these for you last night. They are English translations of course, and they are very basic, but they should provide a good foundation for your research." He handed her a large leather-bound volume. She winced and rubbed her temples.

"Headache? Let me get that for you." Loki knelt down so he was at her eye level as she sat. He reached out and laid his hands on the top of her head. He carefully loosened her hair from its knot and smoothed it down. "Close your eyes. Breathe normally, relax." He stroked her hair and with each caress the pain receded further and further away, replaced with a feeling of peace and relaxation. His hand was cool on her forehead. "How's that?"

She slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking straight into his aqua eyes. She shivered and sighed, "Better. Much better. How did you do that?"

"The only magic Odin left me is healing magic. Fitting, don't you think?" Loki stood up. "You shouldn't drink so much alcohol. And by the way, all beautiful girls are very much Fandral's 'type,' so let me know if he bothers you too much."

Darcy then felt her eyes getting very heavy. Loki touched her shoulder as he moved back to his spot by the fire. "You'll sleep for a little while now, don't fight it. Your illness will have completely passed when you awaken."

Darcy yawned as she tried to say "Oh, okay, thanks..." Strangely, the last coherent thought formed before sleep took over was that Loki had just offhandedly told her she was beautiful.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Some of this chapter will be from Loki's perspective so we know a little about what's going on in that godlike bag of cats brain of his. This may be OOC but my Loki is a repentant, sad panda Loki.**

The mortal girl's breathing evened out and the furrow between her eyebrows smoothed as the healing sleep took over. He was gratified to see that it worked so well on a human. He usually used his healing magic on his fellow workers at the Bifrost. Part of his sentence was to make sure the Bifrost was rebuilt to be even better and stronger than it was before and it was hard work. He had to use all of his mental faculties on the design and structure, with great help from Heimdall and then he also had to put his physical strength into it, finding and refining the metals and other materials needed to generate the immense force used to transport beings between the realms. If anyone was hurt at the construction site, it was also his job to heal them and if the injury was grave to get them to the healing chambers as soon as possible. He often came back to his room or the library exhausted by his labor at the bridge. Too exhausted to brood, too exhausted to plan or plot, too exhausted to do anything but sit by the fire and then fall into bed and sleep. Of course this was what Odin intended.

There was no work to be done at the bridge the day the visitors from Midgard arrived. Feast days were days off, as were the days after the feasts, given how much drinking and how little sleeping went on those nights. He had spent the time during the feast thinking about how he wanted her to perceive Asgard's government and ruling structure, since he knew whatever work she did would be immediately taken, dissected, digested, and then classified by the agents of Shield. Then he started pulling books. He would have to shape her research as best as he could with conversation and help with sources. Hopefully she would trust him to be accurate, but it wasn't likely given his past actions. She did seem very trusting personally. All he had to do, it seemed, was look her in the eye and she seemed to get flustered and then acquiesce to whatever he wanted. He didn't need any mind gem to do it either. He had no memory of ever having this effect on a woman before. She was a strange one; Fandral usually had women wrapped around his little finger in minutes, but she wanted nothing to do with him. Not her type, indeed. He wondered what her type was.

He wasn't even sure why he cared about her research anyway. What the powers that be on Midgard considered important was very obvious and basic. Midgard was not made to be ruled by anyone. He learned that in the most difficult way possible. He supposed there was a self serving reason to try and shape the girl's findings: he wanted to come off looking as good as possible so that maybe he could regain even a small amount of what he'd lost. What he'd thrown away.

He took his green cloak from the back of the chair by the fire and carefully draped it over Darcy's sleeping form. He looked down into her peaceful face for a bit and then left the library, carefully closing the door. He returned to his room and stood looking out the window toward the Bifrost for a very long time.

When Darcy woke up, she was covered in a green blanket of some sort, which was very warm and smelled wonderful. She spent a minute or two just breathing in the scent until she realized with embarrassment that the blanket was Loki's cloak. Awkward. She looked over toward the fire, but Loki's chair was empty. She wanted to thank him for what he'd done for her, but she had no clue where to look for him. Just as she was folding up the cloak and placing it on Loki's chair, Thor and Jane burst into the library. She jumped and turned.

"Hey guys, what's up?" She squeaked. "Finally out of bed?"

"Darcy, please. Thor was contacted by Heimdall, who says you've been with Loki and that he used his healing magic on you. Did he hurt you?"

"No, just the opposite! He, uh, well, he cured my hangover." She muttered the last word quickly and quietly.

"He cured what?" Jane said.

"My hangover." Darcy restated, irritably. "I may have overdone it a bit at the feast last night. Loki also hid me from Fandral, who I think has a little crush on me."

Thor laughed out loud at the expression on Jane's face. She spluttered, "You're telling me that Loki, the Loki who tried to take over Earth last year, killed a man with his bare hands in front of an audience, and then brought an alien army to destroy us, just randomly cured your hangover? Are you serious?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it does sound bad. He just doesn't seem dangerous somehow. Oh, Jane, you should meet him before you judge me, seriously."

Thor agreed with Darcy. "Jane, he's had a long time to think about the consequences of his actions. He works to exhaustion to repair the Bifrost, he reads in this library, and he sleeps in his room. That is the measure of his world now. Odin and Heimdall work together to weave a spell of illusion to keep the Chitauri from finding and destroying him and mother tries to get through to him as she could when he was a boy. He is still lost, but I know he is starting to find his way back to the people who love him."

Darcy and Jane looked at Thor. He was serious and his eyes were full of concern and love.

"Okay, fine. Darcy, just be careful. I heard from Heimdall that you are planning on writing some kind of analysis of Asgardian government? You know Shield is just going to take your research and bury it, right?"

Darcy shrugged. "I'm willing to risk that. I have to make something of this weird life I've been thrown into. My background is political science and sociology. I've got to come up with some original research if I want to continue my academic career. Just because I play with my iPod too much and come across as a completely irresponsible airhead doesn't mean I am one." She paused. "Why does Heimdall seem to know my every move and thought?"

"I don't know how you could have missed that, Darce. Heimdall knows and sees pretty much everything. He's the gatekeeper. If you're lucky he'll keep watching over you."

"She's right, my lady." A familiar voice added. Loki had entered the library. "Heimdall is our first line of defense. He is helping me to rebuild the Bifrost and will warn us right away of any attack by my former allies."

Jane moved closer to Thor as she looked suspiciously at Loki. He bowed slightly.

"Lady Jane Foster, welcome. My brother speaks very highly of you, and constantly, to be truthful. I am at your service. I am disturbing your conversation, so I will return later."

Jane blushed and said "Don't leave, it's fine. Thor was going to give me the grand tour and we wanted to invite Darcy. Darce, you coming?"

"Sure. Loki, thanks a million for helping me. I'll come back later and start on all those books. You da man." Darcy gave him a little punch on the arm as she followed Thor and Jane out the door. …and you smell really good, she thought, with a little smile.

I'm the man? Loki thought as he rubbed his arm. Human slang was unfathomable.


	4. Chapter 4

The tour was indeed a grand tour. Darcy could barely keep up as Thor showed the all the sights of the Capitol. The highlight was getting to see the Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge destroyed by Thor to stop the destruction of Jotunheim. It was under serious repair but still glowed and shimmered in the sunlight like a smooth road made of opal. The structure that did the translation between worlds was halfway re-built, covered in scaffolding.

"Behold, Darcy. This is where Loki spends his days now, repairing what he destroyed as best he can." Thor ruffled her hair and laughed. "I'm hungry. Let's get back and eat, my little ones. Dr. Selvig is probably already in the lab working."

Darcy was actually ready to get back to the library, to start her research, she told herself sternly. Not to see and talk to Loki some more. Not to look into his blue green eyes and listen to him speak so formally and sweetly to her… She shook herself. Lunch, then reading and note taking. If Loki was there, great, she could ask him questions if they came up, if he wasn't then she didn't care. Right.

She entered the library as quietly as she could, and was inwardly very pleased to see Loki in his chair by the fire. Lunch had been an over-the-top affair like the feast last night, and she had seated herself between Erik and Frigga to avoid Fandral once again. Loki and Thor's mother was very sweet to her and asked how she was enjoying her stay.

"I've been told you are going to study our world and culture, young lady," she asked.

Jeez Louise, thought Darcy. Did everyone know all her plans as soon as she thought them up? "Yes, ma'am. I appreciate the use of your library and books."

"You may of course stay as long as you wish and use all of our resources. Midgard and Asgard have been too long separated. I want our people to be joined in brotherhood with yours." Frigga glanced at Odin, who had given her a look with his good eye.

Now that she was back in the library, even with Loki there (maybe because Loki was there) she felt she could finally relax.

"Well, big boy, I have been given the green light by your mom to bother you for as long as I want to get this research project about your government done. Would you call this a constitutional monarchy?" Glasses pushed up her nose, she looked as serious as she ever did. Which is to say, not serious at all.

Loki blinked. My mom? He thought. "It's actually what you would call a benevolent dictatorship, for all intents and purposes. Odin isn't called the Allfather for nothing. We rely on our king to do what's best for his people. A constitution limiting the king's power would also limit his power to protect us."

She opened the book she had tried to start with earlier and began reading. She quickly became engrossed and would only occasionally toss out a question for Loki, who had a ready answer for everything. After several hours, he quietly rose and came to where she was sitting.

"Darcy, I will be at the Bifrost all day tomorrow. I've gotten some more books for you, so you'll be busy as well. I'll come to the library when I can. Be well, sleep soundly, and have sweet dreams." He touched her shoulder again and slipped out.

The next day, Darcy, Jane and Erik made individual plans to stay in Asgard to finish their projects. Jane of course wanted to stay with Thor for as long as she possibly could, so she was happy to have Darcy stay with her in Asgard while she worked on her research. Erik would be traveling back and forth via tesseract portal as his work needed.

**Author's note: ready for some romance now? I have to wrap this up, it's getting too long and I'm running out of time. I would make this as long as a Norah Roberts novel if I could but I just have too much going on in my life.**

Days turned into weeks as Darcy tore through all the books on history, government, environment, culture, art and everything else Loki recommended that she read. She looked forward to that moment at the end of a long day of reading and writing (long hand, a laptop seemed somehow gauche, and she was pretty sure it wouldn't work anyway) about some incident in Asgard's distant past, when a tall shadow would come in and fall into his chair by the fire. His pale face would look in Darcy's direction and light up. Darcy could see that he was very tired, but he always stopped by to see how her project was going. He read through her drafts and corrected a lot of spelling errors, usually with a raised eyebrow. "Really, Darcy? There's a dictionary right there on the table."

Occasionally she would be rattling on about something she'd read and look over at him, only to notice that he was asleep in his chair, his dark eyelashes standing out against his pale skin, the firelight fading. She usually just tiptoed out at this point, but at last one night she decided to try and wake him and get him into his room. Surely his bed would be better to sleep in than a chair.

"Um, Loki? Loki, wake up. It's time for nighty night, big boy. " She gently shook his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and he grabbed her wrist. She squeaked and he loosened his grip, but did not let go.

"Darcy, do not startle me like that." He pulled her down onto his lap and reached up to stroke her hair. "What am I saying? You startle me every day. I still don't understand the effect you have on me. What are you?"

Darcy felt like purring she felt so good on his lap. He was warm from the fire and his eyes were sleepy. She leaned into him and as their lips finally touched she sighed with pleasure. The kiss was returned with no hesitation and became deeper as they settled into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and twisted her fingers into his dark hair. His hands were exploring the skin of the small of her back where her tee shirt was riding up and she shuddered as he moved his hands upward. He began to kiss her neck and nibble her collarbone. She was trying to get into his fantastically complicated clothing, and was mostly succeeding, when she had a terrible thought. She reluctantly pulled away from Loki and said, "Oh. My. God. Can Heimdall see us right now?"

Loki laughed and said "Of course he can. He sees everything. He does however know when to avert his gaze. Would you like to see my room, Darcy?"

"Will you be hanging up the metaphorical Do Not Disturb sign for Heimdall?" She asked.

"Should I?"

"Oh, yes."

When Jane asked Darcy why she was so tired the next morning, she was pleased to report to Jane that she had been up all night helping someone who was lost find his way home again. Jane rolled her eyes and turned to Thor. "Well, I guess you won that bet," she said. Thor just threw his blond head back and laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N I'm going to finish this off, hopefully in one or two chapters. I know everyone is dying to know how Darcy's master's thesis turns out, and if the Bifrost is finished and if Loki is forgiven, and a new war with the Frost Giants kicks up, etc, etc. Unfortunately, I need to work! So let's start up again so I can finish...**

"BET? What bet?" Darcy was super tired, but it only took a second for her outrage to build up. "You guys made a bet on whether I would sleep with Loki? Stay classy, Thor!" She humphed away back into the library. Jane and Thor walked off toward the lab, giggling (again with the giggling) all the way.

Of course, her shadowy companion was not there. Work on the Bifrost was nearing a critical stage and would be completed very soon. She settled down at her table. Her thesis was finished; she was just fiddling with it to prolong her time on AsgarThe title was pure academic gold: "Of Gods and Men: A Study of the Methodology and Effectiveness of Asgardian Protection of Earth / Midgard from the 11th Century to the Present." It had somehow morphed (under Loki's guidance of course) from a straightforward analysis of Asgardian government to an annotated history of all the excellent things Asgard had ever done for Earth. The more she thought about Loki's input, the more she had to laugh. He had really laid some groundwork for an eventual return to his former position.

She assembled her papers and got up to find Jane. She'd need to hitch a ride back with Erik so that she could get her paper transcribed, vetted by Shield and then submitted to her thesis advisors. Of course she didn't actually have thesis advisors right now, but petty details like that were what Shield dealt with best. Maybe she could get admitted to Prof X's academy if she could prove her lousy eyesight was actually a mutation. She wasn't actually sure the academy was accredited anyway. Details, details...

She wandered down the hall to the stairway to the labs. Coming up the stairway was her favorite mistake, Fandral. He smiled as he saw her.

"Lady Darcy! You look lovely this morning. May I escort you to your destination?"

"Oh, well, no thank you. Unless you've seen Jane? Is she in the lab with Dr. Selvig?" Darcy clutched her paper to her ample chest and tried to look neutral.

"She is indeed. I insist upon walking with you." He put his hand under her elbow in the time honored way she liked to think of as the "helping the old lady across the street" position.

"I hear, Lady Darcy, that the Bifrost will be finished in but three days time! It will be amazing, even better than before. There will be two nights of feasting and the second night we will be inviting some of your friends from Midgard. May I presume to have you seated near me?"

He could presume away, but it didn't matter where Darcy sat at the feast. Most likely, unless Jane and Thor dragged her, she would be in the library with Loki anyway. If she was truthful with herself, it was way more likely she'd be in Loki's bedroom. She shivered a little. Fandral felt the tiny tremor and smirked down at her.

"Don't be afraid. I won't bite, my sweet. Unless you want me to." His hand went from her elbow to her opposite shoulder.

Darcy quickly twisted out from under his arm as they came up to the lab door.

"Um, okay, then thanks for the walk. See you later?" She was so awkward. She wasn't sure how many negative signals she could beam at this pretty boy. He just wouldn't take a hint.

Inside the lab, she was very surprised to see Odin himself in deep conversation with Dr. Selvig. She saw Jane furrowing her brow at some kind of glowy thing. So much of what Jane and Dr. Selvig did was incomprehensible to her. She felt like she was interrupting something important. She sidled over to Jane.

"What's the haps? Why is the big cheese here?" Darcy whispered. The big cheese smiled. Good ears.

"Darcy, I know you've gotten close with Loki, so I'm not going to lie to you. The Bifrost is reopening in a few days and Odin is going to try and work another truce with the Frost Giants. He is not sure if Loki is ready take his share of the responsibility as Thor did. Shield will not be happy if another war between realms is reignited because there is great danger that the Frost Giants will once again attack Earth as they did in the early Middle Ages. This is political diplomacy on a scale that boggles my mind. Interplanetary or interdimensional war was never even in my wildest dreams when I started my research on Einstein Rosen bridges."

"Oh, no, that sucks. "Darcy's flair with words always manifested in these tense moments. She was very well aware of the stakes of these next few days given that she had just written a book about the very same events and what had happened.

"Well, maybe my paper will help Shield figure out the next move we make as Earthlings. It's all here. I need a ride back with Erik so I can get it transcribed. When's the next trip?"

Jane frowned. "He's going back today. He's taking Odin with him to speak to Nick Fury. I can't say this would be a great time to go. However. You may be right about your paper being helpful. Thanks for letting me read it, by the way. If I can be one of your advisors, let me know."


	6. Chapter 6

Just a few minutes after translating back to Midgard, oops, Earth, Darcy found herself back in the buzzing hive of Shield. She sat on a regulation office chair and lamented that it wasn't an overstuffed richly upholstered Asgardian armchair. As soon as her head stopped spinning she jumped up and stalked over to where Dr. Selvig and Odin were talking with Nick Fury. Before she could reach them, a firm grip landed on her shoulder. A tough but feminine voice pulled her back.

"Hang on, Miss. I know you work with Dr. Selvig but you're supposed to be debriefed as soon as you step out of the wormhole. You'll be speaking directly with Fury very soon." It was a tall willowy brunette with a name tag that said "M. HILL." This must be Coleslaw's replacement. Thor had explained what had happened to Coulson and it gave her a massive twinge in her gut to remember that Loki had killed him while escaping from the Hulk trap on the Helicarrier.

"I'm not sure what I need to be 'debriefed' on, but I've written a thesis about Asgardian history and I want Fury to read it as soon as he can. Things are about to go nuts up there and he needs background. It has to be transcribed, but he can read the original now." Darcy assertively thrust her package into Agent Hill's arms.

"Thank you, I will give it to him right away." Agent Hill's sarcastic tone of voice and visible eye roll caused Darcy's heart to fall. Are you effing kidding me? She thought.

"I'm dead serious, lady. Would you be more inclined to give it to Fury if I told you that I've been working on this for the past few months with Loki himself?" Darcy said.

"Fine. Consider it done." Agent Hill approached the men in conversation and waited patiently to be acknowledged. She handed the package to Fury who took it and glared over at Darcy. Dr. Selvig turned and beckoned for Darcy to come over.

"Darcy, please join us. I was just telling the Director about the Frost Giant situation."

Darcy was floored. Despite having spent months on another world, the fact that she was being consulted by a brilliant astrophysicist, the director of an international spy organization with superheroes at his disposal and a freaking GOD was one step beyond crazy.

"Well, what do you need to know?" She just pushed up her glasses and jumped right in.

After about six hours in an Earth type conference room, meaning uncomfortable chairs, no servants bringing delicious food, no crackling fireplace, Darcy was ready to return to Asgard. Fury and Odin seemed to be competing to see who had the most threatening demeanor, and props to Fury, he was almost winning. Fury wanted guarantees that there would be no retaliation threat to Earth after the Bifrost was functioning again. Odin was irritated that Fury just didn't take his reassurances at face value. Dr. Selvig occasionally interjected some scientific jargon, meant to reinforce Odin's arguments. The plan taking shape was that Odin, Loki, Thor and a representative from Shield to be decided on later would visit Jotunheim to assess the situation and if possible, salvage the truce made by Odin originally.

Fury finally showed signs of agreeing to this plan, but there were a few other things he needed to iron out.

"What about the Chitauri? What can we expect from them? We have so little intel on their strength I don't know if our nuke destroyed them or was the equivalent of a mosquito bite."

Odin chuckled. "If the Chitauri were so fearsome, why would they have used poor Loki to steal the tesseract? We should fear the puppet master, not the puppets. They were hurt grievously, but the one who used them as tools to be thrown away, he remains. Loki is hidden from him, but he also hides from me. Heimdall and I have been searching for over a year to find the key to his identity and are no closer than when we started."

"Speaking of poor Loki." Fury spat out. "Over six billion dollars worth of damage was done on the island of Manhattan during his takeover attempt. That's billion with a B. Insurance companies are balking at covering the damage because they are literally 'acts of god.' What kind of reparations can I expect from Asgard?"

Darcy perked up. She'd have to give the scoop to Loki when she returned. This question had come up in her mind several times, to be honest. Asgard was looking pretty spiff compared to Manhattan at this point.

"We will send all of our best engineers and builders as soon as the Bifrost is finished. We can integrate some of our technology with Stark's ARC reactor technology with the help of Shield to rebuild Manhattan better than it was before. Loki himself will be sent here to Midgard to help with all the work. He will have no Asgardian powers other than healing and will be under the watch of Thor and Heimdall. Loki will have to prove himself and his intentions to Midgard, just as he did on Asgard and will do on Jotunheim." Odin had obviously practiced this little speech.

Fury looked skeptical. "That's a start. I say let's adjourn this meeting. I have a lot of reading to catch up on." He scooped Darcy's paper up and fixed his eye on her. "You, Darcy Lewis, are you planning to return to Asgard?"

"I was definitely planning on it." Darcy quailed. Would he stop her? Keep her at Shield for her own safety? She just realized how much she was looking forward to seeing Loki and she'd only been gone for a day. This set her back a bit. When did she get so attached?

"Good, I need more intel. I need you to pick Loki's brain about whoever or whatever was pulling the strings for the Chitauri. Use whatever influence you have with him to get some information on how serious this threat really is. Report to me directly. I will be in Asgard myself when the Bifrost reopens."

The import of Fury's instructions sunk in. She had just been asked, no, ordered, to spy on Loki. She could twist it around in her mind and say it was for his own good, but she doubted he would be truthful if she knew Fury was behind her interest in the events leading up to last year. She may have to shade her conversational motivation a little bit. Ah, crap. This was just what she needed. She was finally getting some sugar from a very handsome guy, who was actually a godlike being from another world and now she might have to start lying to him? She was going to have to seriously think about this development.

She looked around and noticed Odin staring thoughtfully at her. She detected a little sympathy and strangely enough, a not negligible amount of amusement at her situation. No help there.

**A/N I'll try to crank out a few more chapters, they are getting a bit shorter because I'm trying to drive the story forward to a logical conclusion or at least a really good cliffhanger for the next story.**


	7. Chapter 7

Back in Asgard, with Loki occupied at the Bifrost, Darcy was feeling a little lost herself. She went in search of Jane and found Thor instead. He was coming out of the lab looking preoccupied.

"What's up, T?" Darcy tried to act like herself and smiled up at him.

"Ah, Darcy Lewis. Jane cannot seem to tear herself away from her calculations. She is transfixed. I must be patient until the Bifrost is finished."

"Well, I'm in the same boat. My work is done for the most part, but I'm seriously missing my pic and he won't be home until Jane is," she sighed.

"Your pic?" he asked.

"Yeah, I mean Loki. My partner in crime, you know, my best bud, my main squeeze, my homie, etc. I guess you never saw any Earth movies in the nineties, eh?" Darcy loved using slang with Thor, it really helped pass the time.

"Anyway, Thor - has Loki ever talked to you about the person or thing or whatever who hooked him up with the Chitauri? From what I understand, that's what everyone is worried about right now."

"I've brought it up but not really gotten any responses from him. It's almost as if he's unsure of himself."

"Okay, well, I had to ask. Nick Fury basically ordered me to find out as much as I can from Loki, but I've made my mind up to be honest about it. I don't know why he'd tell me something he wouldn't tell you or Odin."

"Darcy, if you don't understand why Loki would confide in you instead of me or our father, then you are very inexperienced in matters of the heart. I am happy you will be honest with him, but don't expect much." With that he left and went back into the lab to stare at the back of Jane's head while she worked.

Darcy spent the remaining days waiting in the library, trying to figure out what to say to Loki to get him to help Shield without pissing him off.

The first day of feasting dawned bright and beautiful as most days on Asgard dawned. Darcy woke up in her own room and started getting ready for the big day. While drinking some coffee and scarfing an Asgardian pastry that was suspiciously similar to a chocolate croissant, she heard a light tapping on her door. She got up, cup in hand and asked who was there.

"It's Loki, Darcy. Are you ready to receive visitors? I wish to see you."

Ready to receive visitors? Was he serious? Darcy put down her coffee, wiped the crumbs off her face and quickly opened the door.

"Loki!" she squealed as she flung her arms around his neck and jumped up, breathing in his wonderful scent and ignoring the various bits of armor digging into her.

"Oof, my lady, you are too kind." He hugged her fiercely back and then gently disentangled himself. "May I suggest we leave the hallway?"

They went in to Darcy's suite and sat down on the couch and Darcy started offering various breakfast foods to Loki as if he hadn't eaten in days, which he kind of looked like.

He smiled a little wearily and reached up to her face, looking into her eyes. "Darcy, love, I'm perfectly fine, but you have chocolate all over your mouth. Let me help you with that." He leaned in and kissed her hungrily and she lost all her apprehension and just gave in to her feelings and ignored her brain.

After a few minutes of seriously distracting kissing they came up for air and sat there in each other's arms. Darcy asked if he was coming to the feast tonight.

"There's no chance of that. If our first trip is not a success, I won't be going to any feasts at all, for a very long time. Odin, Thor and I are going to Jotunheim today in a few hours. I've been told Shield has insisted that Captain Rogers go with us to represent the interests of Midgard." His face was troubled and as serious as it ever was. "If we cannot restore the truce, then I'll be formally disowned by the house of Odin and banished to Niflheim."

"What about Manhattan? Odin said you were going to help with the reconstruction. You can't do that from the land of frozen mist or whatever!" Darcy had been counting on Loki coming to Midgard, er, Earth, eventually. Or staying with him on Asgard, she honestly didn't care, but Niflheim?

"Oh, I'm going to do that regardless of the outcome today with the Frost Giants. It's a question of whether I do it freely or bound by chains and magic. I just wanted to let you know where I am going today, and if we are successful, I will be in the library an hour before the feast begins. Will you meet me?"

"Yes, I will be there, but can't I go with you today?" she wanted to help, do anything she could. She realized he'd have to make amends by himself.

"Darcy, you are so young and full of good intentions. I know you make that offer because you feel protective of me for some reason, but believe me, I need no protection. I must face the Frost Giants, and your fellow humans, on my own."

With a last lingering kiss, he got up and left her room, cloak swirling and leather creaking. He was wearing his full battle gear to face his consequences.

**A/N I'm going to end this one right here and if I get time later I'll start on the sequel where Loki comes to Manhattan and helps rebuild and Darcy starts working with Shield to find the villain behind the Chitauri. I'll spoil it for you now: the Frost Giants are still in disarray after Laufey's death so they are cool with a truce and Odin talks them into leaving Thor and Loki's punishment up to him. Steve Rogers is of course a great rep for Midgard, I mean Earth, and manages to charm and intimidate the Frost Giants enough so that the truce extends to Midgard, which is under the protection of the Avengers, Thor, Odin, and now Loki.**


End file.
